Friday, December 11, 2009

Why I Like the Dolphins

Usually when you tell someone what NFL team you root for, they follow up with something like, "Good year for you guys", or "What are you gonna do about your QB situation?" These are expected and appreciated, because they imply that the questioner approves of your choice of team, and trusts you're a good fan.

But when I tell people I root for the Miami Dolphins, I don't get follow-ups like "Nice win last week" or "Can you believe how Ricky's running?"

I get, "Why the heck do you like the Dolphins?"

And I never have a good answer. In fact, most of the time I don't even have an answer. I just get aggravated and bark something like, "I don't know, I just do."

Most fans don't realize how good they have it. All they have to worry about are wins and losses. For me, Dolphins' losses are just a part of it.

I have to justify my entire reason for being.

So why am I a Dolphins fan? After years of getting defensive and dismissing the question, I realized I honestly didn't know the answer. So I sat in my room and did some soul-searching.

Here's what I came up with:

It started with my dad. Like most kids, I rooted for who my dad rooted for. But my dad didn't have a favorite NFL team, so I decided the next logical choice was my grandparents. My mom's mom lived in Philadephia, and my dad's parents lived in Fort Lauderdale. It was the Eagles or the Dolphins.

This was where it got a little fuzzy, but in the end, I'm pretty sure it came down to an NFL mail-order catalog, and deciding what color jacket I wanted for my 8th birthday.

The picture says it all. Wow.

So from now on, I'd like to ask anyone wondering why I like the Dolphins to please refer to this post. Because while it's certainly not the best reason for liking a team, it's myreason. And it's just gonna have to do.

Whew, now I feel better.

Sort of.

Weekend Picks

Baltimore (-13) vs. Detroit (1:00 ET). I like Baltimore taking their frustrations out on Detroit here. They're 9-0 ATS this year against teams with a losing record.

Miami (+3) @ Jacksonville (1:00 ET). Not much of a home-field advantage here. Governor Charlie Crist is pleading for Jax to draft Tim Tebow so more people will come to their games. Never a good sign.

Oakland (+1) vs. Washington (4:05 ET). Washington's played a lot better the past few weeks, but so has Oakland. I don't see how the home team is getting points here.

Arizona (-3.5) @ San Francisco (Monday Night, 8:30 ET). Arizona's 5-1 ATS on the road this year, so forget about the Painted Ladies in that silly picture, and jump on the gravy train.